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Monroe County Democrats: Vacco hiring wasteful spending

The county already has a law department, so Democrats in the County Legislature are wondering why Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks had to contract with a new lawyer to scrutinize local development corporations contracting with Monroe County.

Monroe County already has a law department, so Democrats in the County Legislature are questioning why County Executive Maggie Brooks had to contract with a new lawyer to scrutinize local development corporations that contract with the county.

In early July, the county hired Republican lawyer Dennis Vacco, a former state attorney general and U.S. Attorney, to review the operation of county-connected local development corporations, or LDCs.

"Why does the county executive need to hire another taxpayer-funded lawyer?" said Legislature Minority Leader Carrie Andrews, D-Rochester. "If she had concerns about the services LDCs were providing she should have had counsel review the transaction before entering into these multimillion-dollar deals, including a 20-year deal worth over $225M of taxpayer funds. She has an entire law department, a special counsel to her office and outside attorneys she already contracts with at her disposal."

The Democrat and Chronicle reported Tuesday that a county grand jury, impaneled for as much as six months, is investigating allegations of wrongdoing by local LDCs with ties to Monroe County. The case is being prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office, which has not responded to requests for comment.

The Democrat and Chronicle also reported Tuesday on the county hiring of Vacco, who is now in private practice in Buffalo.

"As the ultimate stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have have the fundamental responsibility to make sure public monies are spent in an efficient and appropriate manner," county spokesman Justin Feasel said in a statement Tuesday. "To this end, Monroe County has hired respected former State Attorney General Dennis Vacco to review the services delivered by Local Development Corporations."

County officials would not release the cost of the contract with Vacco Tuesday, asking that a Freedom of Information request be filed for the information.

The county's use of local development corporations has been controversial since their inception. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has questioned whether the LDCs have been used for preferential bidding for major contracts.

The propriety of the operations of two local LDCs in particular have been questioned: Upstate Telecommunications Corp., or UTC, and Monroe Security and Safety Systems, also known as M3S.

In an audit, DiNapoli alleged that the local Navitech Services Corp. received preferential treatment when making a bid for a $224 million county public safety contract filtered through M3S. County officials denied the allegations.

Brooks has contended that the LDCs are major cost-savers for taxpayers, because they can save money with large contracts.